Monday, December 12, 2011

Last year, the Southern Poverty Law Center designated the Family Research Council as an official anti-gay hate because of the group's deliberate use of lies and junk science to spread false information about the lgbtq community.

However, according to a new report by Equality Matters, the mainstream media is not only ignoring this but seems going out of its way to give FRC and its spokespeople credibility:

In November of 2010, the Southern Poverty Law Center listed the Family Research Council as an anti-gay hate group due to its “propagation of known falsehoods” about the LGBT community. Since being listed, however, FRC spokespersons have been invited 52 times to discuss issues ranging from the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” to the 2012 presidential campaign. Despite FRC’s long history of producing anti-gay propaganda, every major news network has invited the group on national television while failing to acknowledge its hate group designation.

Analysis: News Networks Regularly Host Family Research Council Spokespersons

FRC Listed As An Anti-Gay Hate Group In November 2010. In November 2010, the Family Research Council (FRC) was added to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) list of anti-gay hate groups due to its “propagation of known falsehoods” about gays and lesbians. [SPLC, November 2010]

FRC Spokespersons Made 52 Television Appearances Since Being Labeled A Hate Group. According to an Equality Matters analysis*, FRC spokespersons – including Tony Perkins, Peter Sprigg, and Ken Blackwell – have been invited to appear on CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News a total of 54 times in the twelve months since Perkins first appeared on MSNBC to discuss being labeled as a hate group. 24 of those appearances were on Fox News, 19 were on MSNBC, and 11 were on CNN.

And Equality Matters' report notes the exact reasons why FRC should be considered as a hate group:

SPLC: FRC’s “Specialty Is Defaming Gays And Lesbians.” From an October 7 SPLC report:

The Family Research Council (FRC) bills itself as “the leading voice for the family in our nation’s halls of power,” but its real specialty is defaming gays and lesbians. The FRC often makes false claims about the LGBT community based on discredited research and junk science. The intention is to denigrate LGBT people in its battles against same-sex marriage, hate crimes laws and anti-bullying programs. To make the case that the LGBT community is a threat to American society, the FRC employs a number of “policy experts” whose “research” has allowed the FRC to be extremely active politically in shaping public debate. [...]

The FRC also strongly promotes the “ex-gay” movement as a way to combat LGBT civil rights measures, though professional organizations have repeatedly called so-called “reparative therapy” (which seeks to turn gays and lesbians into heterosexuals) into question and issued statements that don’t support it. [...]

Part of the FRC’s recent strategy is to pound home the false claim that gays and lesbians are more likely to sexually abuse children. This is false. The American Psychological Association, among others, has concluded that “homosexual men are not more likely to sexually abuse children than heterosexual men are.” That doesn’t matter to the FRC, though. [SPLC Report, “The Anti-Gay Lobby,” 10/7/11, via LGBTQNation, emphasis added]

Natalie Johnson - with the help of the religious right group, the Liberty Counsel - is suing Macy's claiming that the store violated her religious beliefs because of its policy of allowing transgender customers to use the women's changing room. Johnson is claiming that her religious beliefs prevents her from allowing transgender customers to use the women's changing room.

Here are some new details to the story, courtesy of Johnson (which is kind of stupid because it wrecks her entire case):

She approached the customer after she was leaving the changing room and insulted her, calling her a man.

The next day when informed of Macy's policy of allowing individuals of going into whichever changing room they wanted, she said that she refused to comply with the policy. That was why she was fired.

However, to me, the following is the most disturbing detail of them all:

The transgender customer was a teenager.

All of the negative lgbtq messages out there for our children to see is bad enough. But this situation, to me, is the worse. To have someone come up to you in a public setting and accost you in regards to who they assume you are had to be intimidating.

Luckily the young lady stood up for herself and had friends with her.

But this is just another case of how the phony cry of "religious liberty" has the potential to harm our children.

There are two cases on appeal in the courts of two women demanding to be let back into their graduate program at their prospective colleges. Both women, Julea Ward and Jennifer Keeton, are claiming that they were unfairly dismissed because their "religious beliefs" about homosexuality. In reality, neither woman wanted to counsel gays.

And if that's not bad enough, both women expressed a desire to be school guidance counselors.

Naturally their cases have been taken by the Alliance Defense Fund, another religious right group.

Certainly there is no deliberate attempt to potentially undermine the well-being of lgbtq youth by these folks and the groups taking their cases.

But it doesn't erase the fact that if the courts fall for their phony talk of "religious liberty," the undermining of lgbtq youth is a strong possibility.

Email Macy's and send the company your support for standing up for our rights and dignity. And most of all, tell Macy's to not back down.

About Me

Alvin McEwen is 46-year-old African-American gay man who resides in Columbia, SC.
McEwen's blog, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, and writings have been mentioned by Americablog.com, Goodasyou.org, People for the American Way, PageOneQ.com, The Washington Post, Raw Story, The Advocate, Media Matters for America, Crooksandliars.com, Thinkprogress.org, Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish, Melissa Harris-Perry, The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, The Washington Blade, and Foxnews.com.
In addition, he is also a past contributor to Pam's House Blend,Justice For All, LGBTQ Nation, and Alternet.org. He is a present contributor to the Daily Kos and the Huffington Post,
He is the 2007 recipient of the Harriet Daniels Hancock Volunteer of the Year Award and the 2010 recipient of the Order of the Pink Palmetto from the SC Pride Movement as well as the 2009 recipient of the Audre Lorde/James Baldwin Civil Rights Activist Award from SC Black Pride. In addition, he is a three-time nominee of the Ed Madden Media Advocacy Award from SC Pride.